Spring 2023: The Righetti Incident.

 

There must be some way out of here
said the Joker to the Thief
There´s too much confusion
I can´t get no relief

Hello, visitor.

Welcome to the Thessalian scrolls. Enter freely. Go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring.

This is a place to share information, and some pointless digression about the never-ending war of the Kindred. If you have reached this place by chance, please find out what this is all about here. If you came willingly, take a sit and allow me to share some information that can be useful or, at least, entertaining.

So, this is the second stage on our accumulated reports. Here you will find a build-up of the data from January to June, shown either by aggregation, or by a view on their evolution (and sometimes both).

Disclaimer: If you compare the data in this entry with the monthly reports, you may find some minor changes. I have enhanced some accountings, got some better denominations, and added two tournaments in June for which I did not have the info at the time the report was published. But I think these small adjustments make nothing but a better view, and are quite consistent with all previous information and evolution.

Also, allow me to introduce my promised mention to the italian community. I hold a debt with them, and I am pleased to illustrate this special report with a night view of the first city highlighted in this blog, back in January.

Bologna, perfect scenario for another chapter of the eternal struggle

Now, let´s get into it. First of all, please allow me to share some information about the very data I am sharing, from a general perspective, so you can guess the value of all the information I present, and the conclusions that can be extracted.

My method involves the accounting of several features included on the winning decks for all standard tournaments I get my eyes on. This usually means the events that are listed in the Event Calendar in the VEKN, which have a published Winner Deck list. I have been sharing all that information in my monthly reports. Here you can see the list:

In this chart, events are the number of tournaments I am counting, players in scope means the number of players participating in those events. Players out of scope are the those who participated in events I could not account (probably not being able to access the winner deck list). And then we have the % players out and % players in scope, reflecting the percentage of player participations that are measured in this report. This % evolution can be seen here:

Based on the same data, please see below the evolution of the player count of the methuselahs participating in events I am counting:

 

And also a display of the events accounted and the average number of players:

To compare this from one year to another would bring us quite a good look of the status of the VTES competitive scene. For the moment, I do believe that, in the post-covid scene, the game is growing significantly, not only for what is shown in the charts, but also due to what I can see and hear from the comunities.

ZONES.

All these events are distributed along almost the whole planet: From the modern buidings of Singapore to the ancestral monuments in Córdoba, from the danzing shores of the Danube in Budapest and Belgrado, to the beat-ing side of the Mersey in Liverpool. From Picos de Europa in Asturias, to the Andes near Santiago de Chile, and from the beautiful coasts of Ceará in Brazil, to the cold waters of the Baltic Sea in Finland. 

I can tell you that one of the most satisfying experiences in publishing this blog is to behold the development of different comunities in so many cities all around the world. Like the Kindred in the World of Darkness, we all do our vampiric life around the cities we live in. Places with their own identities, such as Mexico DF, Bolonia, Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, Vienna or Zaragoza. To be able to have a glimpse of the deeds happening in those places has been a true privilege so far. I will not list them all here, but I made sure I mentioned all of them in my monthly reports.

Please, see the list of the countries I have gathered, with the number of participants on them:

WINNERS.

The personality of those wonderful places is defined and performed by the methuselahs who play there. Cunning and ruthless players who fight desperately or firmly to survive the eternal struggle. And among them, some stand out as masters in that cruel game: the tournament winners. In my report for June, I told you to be aware of the brilliant performances of one of them, and today, seeing the accumulated data for the first six months, we all can see why. The amount of players that should be listed here is huge, and the resolution of the site does not allow me to share it complete. So, I will show you the first 30:

Explanation:

V: Number of victories achieved by a player

%V: percentage of victories of that player over the total of games counted

P: Players participating in tournaments won by a player

%P: percentage of players in the won events over the total of methuselahs

Please visit my monthly reports to see all the illustrious names that should be praised this year so far. Or, if you want a more precise look to the roster of the best players of this game, go to the VEKN player registry/ranking, where not only the tournnament wins are counted, but all recent performances achieved by them.

Also, please note some details of my method I would like to introduce here, as it will be an important concept that will allow you to understand the way I am sorting things, in this and many other features in this report: This list, and any other when possible, are organized attending to a Rating, a % number that reflects how many methuselahs were participating in the events that are contributing to a single statistical fact. 

So, in this case, we can see that Jaddou has won 4 events in which 133 players participated. This is 4,66% of all the players participating in accounted events this year, and then, that is his rating. It is higher than any other player´s so far in 2023, and therefore he deserves to be in the top place. I do things this way, as I believe that it is the most accurate measure of the achievements of both a player, a clan, or an archetype.

CLANS.

Lets begin with the data about the decks played. The first feature counts the clans that composed most of the deck in a particular TWD. This gives us the first look on the kind of decks that are winning. Let´s see the chart of the most successful clans in the first half of the month:

Here you can see the total victories achieved by each clan (V), the percentage over the total (%V), and also the number of players on those events (P), along with the % over the total players of the given period (%P). This is the main reference for this chart, and clans are sorted in that order. You can see the accumulated in Q1, and then the same in Q2, and a evolution measure comparing the success of a clan in Q1 (Jan-Mar) vs their performance in Q2 (Apr-Jun). Finally, in green, you find the accumulated total Rating of each clan.

Let me highlight some data calling my attention this Season:

First things first: Tremere has surpassed Gangrel as the most successful clan so far this year. The feral clan has experienced the biggest decline in Spring (-9,32%, and yet they remain second). Tremere performance has grown 3,69% with respect to Winter, due to a brilliant second quarter for them. Banu Haqim (+1,89%) and Harbingers (+1,22%) grow slowly but sustainably, and Ministry are also less successful in Q2 than they were in Q1.

Personally, I love to see that one of the most decisive enhancements is happening to Nosferatu (+3,90%). Other significant shifts are the fall of Lasombra (-6,07%), who had a remarkable performance in Winter, and Ravnos (-4,40%).

But again, balance seems to be a staple in the metagame. 29 clans are represented (out of 39), and we can see a bunch of clans having higher success than others, but by no means any abuse, nor even a clear supremacy. These are wonderful times for a wonderful game. 

PLAYSTYLE.

Now let´s see what kind of strategies have been able to triumph. If you know may previous entries, you may know that I classify the different approaches in four types:

Those decks that go more or less straightway towards the pool of their prey, are nominated as Active decks. Those that play a lot of reactions and mostly try to disrupt the actions of their foes, are classified as Reactive. Control decks are those that mainly defend themselves by attacking and neutralizing other´s minions. And finally, toolbox decks, able to do probably two (or even all) of those things reasonably well.

Allow me to show you the accumulated data of this feature in a chart:

Looking back at the Q1 graphics, we can guess that the scenario has experienced some balance: Winter accumulated data showed almost 50% of Rating of Success for the active players. This has fallen to 38%. Yes, the addition of the results of  Spring has brought some more diversity, specially due to the growth on the number of toolbox winning decks. Lets see the evolution:

As you can see, the Active approach is still the most used, but Toolbox (mixed) decks have been expanding their space as the months passed. Comparing the % of both, we can see that in Q2, mixed strategies are represented in more TWDs than Active ones.

Let´s take a look at deck classification, in an accumulated chart for the whole year (attending to players defeated):

Bleeders, Bleed&vote, Bruise&bleed and Political are the active decks. Blockers and Block&bruise are the reactive ones, being Bruisers the Control masters, and the mixed strategies represented by Toolbox decks. No misteries revealed here, but the chart adds more detail.

DISCIPLINES.

Dominate was the most used discipline in Q1. Now, another shift has happened here. I am delighted to show a detailed chart featuring how many decks use each particular discipline (D), and the Rate over the total (R). You will find the results of the Q1 compared with those of Q2, with an evolution coeficient (EVO) comparing both seasons, and of course a global count of wins and rate. As an exception, player numbers are not considered here (I still did not find a way to formulate it so that it can be shown), but this chart offers a good view of the most successful disciplines.

 

Auspex and Obfuscate are growing, while the other top disciplines are going down. Please see also the growth of Blood Sorcery, and Vicissitude, reflecting a renewed vigor in some particular clans on Q2.

And if we look at the evolution of the five most used disciplines:

I have chosen to highlight the evolution of the five most used disciplines so that we have an easily readable chart. Fortitude is now out of the scope of this chart, obscured (sorry for the bad joke) by the success of Obfuscate.

ARQUETYPES.

As you probably know by now, Playstyle and classification are two layers in some effort to sort out the winning decks and know which ones are having success. The third one, Archetypes, is both more precise and harder to work with. I try to group  in a particular denomination all the decks that share some staples and have a tendency to play similarly. 

As the criteria to define them is personal, it should be considered an indicator, more than a fact. Also, please consider that, though those decks share a very similar approach to a clan or a mechanic, each of them has some particular ways of dealing with side issues, and of course each of them has a personal touch from the player. I recommend to investigate a little in some of the many tools available, and search for decklists of the archetypes calling your attention, to appreciate the differences.

This said, let´s see the accumulated chart:

Explanation:

V: Number of victories achieved by an archetype.

%V: percentage of victories of that archetype over the total of games counted

P: Players participating in tournaments won by an archetype.

%P: percentage of players in the won events over the total of methuselahs

As usual, I am ordering the archetypes attending to their accumulated Rate of Success, related to the number of players participating in the events where they achieved their victories. 

In the evolution feature, you can see how things changed from the first season: Modern Gangrel Anarch have been much less successful in Spring that they were in Winter, and on the other hand, Tremere toolboxes are rising. Modern Banu Haqim and Emerald Harbingers remain profitable, and other archetypes are also rising: Enkidu and Malgorzata decks are getting more credit, and others like the Nosferatu Dominalism Baritoni or the Toreador V5 Toolbox are starting from scratch this season.

But again, variety is the rule, and the chart is threatening to be unreadable, due to the many different decks that can be found winning tournaments. Good news, indeed.

Now, allow me to show some features on the winning decks that are also interesting.

CARDS.

Let´s take a look at the cards that are played. Below you can see an accumulated total of each card, and the % they mean over the total cards played. Also an average per deck of that particular type.

And a chart showing the proportions (grouping Political, equipment, allies, events and retainers in one group).

FEATURE: REDIRECTION.

In what comes to the ability to bounce the bleeds, in the first quarter a wide majority of decks chose to be able to redirect. But in the second season the tendency is changing, and the proportions are more balanced. Still, most decks are able to bounce, so be careful.

If we take a look on the average redirections (below), we can see a contrast on the last three months, as the average number of redirecting cards has grown. So, if we compare Spring vs Winter, we see that there are fewer decks having bounce cards, but those decks in general pack more copies of them.

Green line shows the evolution of the average number of redirections among the decks that pack them. Orange line features the total average  among all decks. 

FEATURE: ASHUR TABLETS.

As you may know, I have been monitorizing the use of the Tablets among TWDs, as the eye of the community seemed to be set on them. Let´s see how this evolved:

We can see that the number of TWDs that use either Ashur+multimaster, or Ashur no multimaster, is diminishing. It came to be a 33% in March (one of every three decks), but it was only that month. The average of the monthly rating so far this year was 21%. As usual, I am rating the decks according to the number of players in the events they won. 

I will keep monitoring this feature, hoping to add some interesting numbers to the debate.

DECK SIZE.

In Winter, decks showed a tendency to grow thinner, but Spring balanced things with a slight increase. Global average remains at 83 cards per deck. See the evolution:

You can see it more accurately in the next chart, where I show the compared evolution of three kind of decks: 90-card decks, those that pack 80-89 cards, and those with less than 80 cards. The data are applied considering the number of players defeated, as usual:

 

CRYPT CAPACITY.

The accumulated data for this quarter are showing a slight change in this feature. Crypt capacity has grown slightly, from the 6,0 of the first season to the 6,3 of the second. See the evolution month by month:

 

A very small increase, indeed. But the tendency is better spotted in the next chart, where we see the evolution of the decks, classified by the highest capacity vampire in each of them:

Definitely, big caps have earned some spotlight in the second season. It may be that mid-caps are getting old-fashioned, or the game is going slower, as more big cap decks are shining lately.

Inspired by this fact, I felt I could add a view on the performance of the most iconic big cap vampires: Inner Circles (Or any other equivalent 11-cap). The chart confirms what we were saying, both in May and June:

The Rating is again calculated attending to player counts in the tournaments won by these decks. 

And that´s all I got for this special issue. I hope you obtained some useful information, or at least some oddities that have given some joy. As usual, I am open to suggestion, comments or bleeds, that can make this place more useful. I always will try to make the next entry a step forward.

Until then, I thank you for reading this far, and wish you a nice wake with the evening´s freshness.

Pritoos.